Six times she outlived her friends and twice she did not
by Iwillscreamintotheabyss
Summary: Melia always knew she'd outlive her friends, she just hadn't expected it to hurt so much.


Melia had always known she would outlive her friends. High Entia lived almost five times longer than Homs did.

That knowledge sat at the back of her mind. It wasn't about a decade after the end of their adventures, when Alcamoth was rebuilt, that she noticed that they now looked older than she did.

Throughout that decade, they stayed close and worked together in their projects.

Riki had moved back to Frontier Village, who was still located inside a giant tree, so he could take care of his children and grandchildren. He still made the trip between the village and the new Colony 9, even exploring the new lands.

Dunban had stayed in Colony 9, but sometimes traveled along with Riki. After a few years, he opened an orphanage along with Fiora in Alcamoth. All of the children that had lost their parents in the war and after it now had a place to go, where they could be loved and fed and schooled. Whenever Melia had free time, she helped out there, promising to herself to adopt as many of these little tykes as she could once Alcamoth was rebuilt.

Shulk had continued his research, but was now using it to make something other than weapons. Many of the indigenous animals weren't that hostile and the mechon were long gone, so there wasn't as much of a need for weapons. Instead, he worked on construction materials and on ways to expand the teleporter system to every settlement they'd established.

Sharla finished her studies in medicine, and became a full fledged doctor. She worked in tandem with Linada to help all races of the new world.

Reyn had become captain of the Imperial Guards. He mostly took on some big missions. After an injury to his arm in a battle, he stopped going to the field and trained the new recruits. While he was lucky enough to be the proud father of twins, he and Sharla also adopted some who had lost their parents during the attacks. There was never a dull moment, and both he and Sharla loved it that way.

Melia had married Fiora a year after she ascended the throne. They promised the people they would provide a legitimate heir through the use of a surrogate, though never revealed who he was for his privacy. They had two children this way, who were both half-Homs, half-High Entia.

The group only grew closer over the years, not letting their jobs get in the way of their friendship.

0o0

Reyn was the first to leave them. Natural causes, they said. He was given a hero's funeral, with almost three thousand people showing up.

He was buried with a extravagant grave stone, which had been funded through donations. Sharla and Juju had been seen comforting his children, while holding back tears themselves. Melia didn't care that she was Empress, she cried. In olden days, the imperial family had not been able to show emotion in public. She'd thrown that rule out of the window.

After the funeral, Melia offered support to Sharla, who graciously took her on the offer. Staying in their old house was difficult, though she also did it with the children in mind. A change of air would be good for them, and they would be hanging out with other kids their age.

Reyn's absence was felt all over Alcamoth and all over the the new world. He'd been loved in Colony 9 before he moved to Alcamoth. He was sorely missed, and remembered lovingly by all.

0o0

The news of Riki's death reached Alcamoth a day later. He'd gone in his sleep, peacefully. He'd been a proud grandfather and a father to any Nopon with no parents. He never became chief, but he was a celebrity in the village. Everyone knew him, and he'd known everyone.

The village was devastated.

He was given a hero's funeral, organised by the village chief. Shulk, Sharla, Fiora, Melia and Dunban rushed to the village. If they were being honest, they'd been expecting him to outlive them all, yet he was one of the first ones to go. Apparently, he'd been sick for awhile and had been hiding it. Sounded just like him. He didn't want others to worry about him.

They all gave a eulogy, and it was hard to not cry. They all did. He'd been a little like a father to all of them, even Dunban. He would be missed, but they knew he wouldn't want to them to be sad. He would want them to celebrate his life and theirs. As such, there was a huge buffet after the funeral. Stories of Riki were shared, and the doom and gloom of before was all but gone.

Thankfully for Oka, all of their children had moved so she wouldn't need to be taking of her children alone, but she had lots of grand-littlepons and even a few great-great-littlepons.

Fiora volunteered to help with babysitting, and so did Dunban. Oka thanked them, but refused their offers. She could handle them.

0o0

Dunban ran the orphanage in Alcamoth. Fiora had helped him until she'd gotten to busy at the palace and with her own children. Lily was a handful, and was a rowdy toddler who enjoyed climbing and putting things in her mouth. Dunban didn't mind babysitting her. Oddly enough, she was an angel when she was with uncle Dun-Dun.

He never let his age get to him, and even if he asked for Shulk's help once in awhile, he was still on top of his game. He often joked that he would work until his last breath or until he couldn't lift the children anymore. He knew death would probably come first.

Even though he never had children of his own, all of the children in the orphanage were his. He loved them all, and even after they'd left the nest, he supported them and they often came by to visit. They were all one big family.

The were all his children, and to each of them, he was their father.

The only thing they didn't know was that he'd been sick for awhile. He didn't want them to worry, so he didn't tell them. The only ones who knew were Sharla and Linada. He was recovering when symptoms came back. Within a week, he was in a hospital bed and a week later, gone.

The news came as a shock, since he hadn't told anyone he was sick.

Fiora broke down at the funeral, and anyone who gave a eulogy did so in tears. They did manage to get through the ceremony, but barely.

There was a supper afterwards, but the atmosphere was much more different than Riki's. Sure, everyone shared stories of Dunban, but everyone's smiles didn't quite reach their eyes most of the time. His children told stories of their time with him and everything he'd done for them. Fiora also told stories of her childhood and what Dunban was like back then.

Shulk and Sharla also added stories from their adventure, and so did Melia.

It was a bittersweet evening, and they left the hall feeling slightly less empty than they did at the start of the day.

Lily and Morgan, Fiora and Melia's children cried themselves to sleep in their mother's bed that night. Uncle Dun-Dun had been their favourite uncle. It was also the first time they'd seen Mama cry, and it was scary. Mama was strong and didn't cry, though she did say that crying was good for you.

Fiora was thankful for Melia and her babies, since she had a feeling she wouldn't have been able to make it through the loss of her brother if not for them.

Shulk also dropped by and left his lab more often afterwards, since there was now no official babysitter for Lily and Morgan, and he filled in that role. He also helped out Fiora when even Melia couldn't console her.

0o0

After the creation of the new world, Shulk buried himself in his research. He still felt like most of what happened had been his fault. Reyn would always be the one to drag him out of his lab, until he died. Fiora also came by as often as she could, not wanting him to shut himself off.

It was Alvis who got him out of his shell, and the two eventually started living together. They never married, but to everyone (and themselves) they were.

He found himself helping out at the orphanage a lot, even being tempted to adopt some of the children there. Alvis took over after Dunban died.

Lily would also often wander into his lab when she was a toddler. It was way too dangerous for her to be in there, so he would drag her out of the lab, and play with her. Sometimes, he would have her sit on his lap while he worked. She would ask questions about everything, and he happily answered. He was glad to see the curiosity and wonder in her eyes.

He hoped the light in her eyes never went out.

He knew his lab was a dangerous place; his equipment wasn't what he would call safe, but he knew how to handle them. When he took in an apprentice, the first thing he did was teach them how to safely handle them.

Something went terribly wrong when a piece of equipment failed in the middle of the night. No one noticed until Shulk came in the next morning. He immediately knew something was wrong and by the time he realised what was malfunctioning, it was too late. It exploded.

The explosion shook the palace and guards came rushing. They were too late, and what remained of Shulk was found after the fire was put out.

Fiora screamed when she heard the news and Melia froze. It was an accident. Just a simple accident had taken one of their best friends away. Sharla collapsed.

Fiora managed to give a shaky eulogy.

She remembered a time, many, many years ago, long before any of this, when they'd spoken about what might happen when they died. Shulk's joke back then rung in her ears. "I'll either die of old age or it'll be because of an accident in the lab."

She wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at that.

Sharla, Melia and Fiora had a supper together after the funeral. They only spoke of the positive things Shulk had done.

"It's thanks to him we can travel so efficiently between settlements," Melia said. "We likely wouldn't have established as many if it wasn't for his progress with the teleporter system."

"He gave Lily his hair," Fiora said after a beat of silence.. "His curiosity and passion for science, too."

"Also gave Morgan their eyes," Melia added.

He'd promised to keep that secret to the grave, and he had.

"It's thanks to him we have two wonderful angels." Fiora nodded.

"I'm not too sure on the angel part," Sharla mentioned, thinking about how rowdy those two had been as toddlers.

They laughed a little.

Melia returned to her room that night, overly aware that Fiora was getting old and she didn't look too different from the day they married. Fiora seemed to know, too.

They had a deep conversation that night.

0o0

Sharla had retired when she was in her 80's. She helped take care of her grandchildren (she still couldn't quite believe she was a grandmother) and Juju's children.

She still visited the office every day and hung out with Linada.

She also visited the palace everyday, helping out Lily and Morgan in their studies and spoke with Melia and Fiora. She also traveled the world, something she hadn't done since Reyn passed. She would return home with plenty of gifts for everyone.

She was found by her oldest son. She'd gone in her sleep.

Both Melia and Fiora cried, but Sharla's death was more bittersweet than anything. She'd lived a full, happy life. She'd said herself that she had no regrets. Wherever she was now, if anywhere, she was with Reyn, Gadolt and all those that had gone before her.

0o0

Fiora had known, especially after Shulk died, that her time was coming, too. She looked at her two wonderful children, who were growing bigger and stronger and smarter everyday and couldn't help but feel proud. They were her babies. She'd raised these two beautiful children, but she would never get to see them reach adulthood. Even now, Lily, their oldest, was barely a teenager.

She started writing letters, to be delivered to them on certain birthdays or after certain events. She knew she wouldn't be able to be there physically, but she wanted to be there with them for their entire lives. She wrote some for Melia, too.

She died in her sleep, found by Melia the next morning.

The entirety of Alcamoth mourned. They'd just lost their Queen, and the Empress had lost a wife. Lily and Morgan had lost a mother.

The funeral was a royal one. After the grand supper, Melia retired to her chambers with her children. She told them stories of their mother in her younger days, some they'd heard, some they hadn't.

It was then that Melia thought of finally writing down everything they'd done in their adventure. Fiora had started it a long time ago, but had stopped around the time Dunban had died. She took the long forgotten manuscript and whenever she had free time, added to it.

While there was a statue of the seven of them in the main plaza of Alcamoth, their story was told verbally, which she knew wasn't a reliable way to keep information over the years. Eventually, their adventure, now known as the "Xenoblade Chronicle" was published.

"I write this that our story never be forgotten."

It was the first line in the book, one that would be quoted for centuries afterwards. There was also another quote, at the end of the book, that was arguably better known

"There is an old saying, where I come from, that everyone dies twice: once when they pass, and the second when their name is said for the last time."

Melia died a little after her 500th year, making her rule one of the longest rules in the history of Alcamoth.

The Xenoblade Chronicle was passed through the centuries and became both storybook and history book. It was taught in schools and every child knew of the story of the seven heroes who recreated the world.

It was also a very common game in playgrounds. It wasn't rare to see groups of children running around, pretending to be Shulk and his friends.

Later editions of the Chronicle included Empress Melia's last words, who were supposedly very similar to her brother's.

"May we meet again in another life."


End file.
